Nuclino
Maintain a fast linked team knowledge base with collections and simple boards
The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For Nuclino, maintain a fast linked team knowledge base with collections and simple boards. The hard boundary is real-time collaboration, hosted sync, permissions, and dependable search, plus sync, collaboration, and capture polish.
Build verification: not recorded. How we judge buildability
What you give up
- real-time collaboration, hosted sync, permissions, and dependable search
- frictionless mobile capture
- real-time team editing
- hosted publishing
- proprietary AI memory
Why people still pay
People still pay for Nuclino because people keep paying when the note system is trusted across every device and disappears into their daily capture habits. The recurring cost buys file watching, conflict handling, indexing, mobile apps, encryption, backups, and migrations, not just the visible interface.
Your build guide
The stack, security requirements, and agent rules for a focused replacement.
Before you start
- A supported Node release, PostgreSQL, HTTPS for a shared deployment, and a backup destination. Begin with one workspace and explicit owner/member permissions.
- Implementation components: Next.js App Router and TypeScript for server-rendered pages and validated mutations. PostgreSQL with Drizzle migrations; Better Auth sessions for a small private workspace.
- Scope boundary: real-time collaboration, hosted sync, permissions, and dependable search; frictionless mobile capture
Use these project rules and optional skill references alongside the prompt. Review each skill before adding it to your agent; the AGENTS.md export includes the same guidance.
Optional external skill: vercel-react-best-practices — Improve React and Next.js data fetching, rendering, bundle size and server performance. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission.
Optional external skill: supabase-postgres-best-practices — Review PostgreSQL schemas, queries, indexes, pooling, concurrency and row-level security. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission.
Optional external skill: web-design-guidelines — Review web interfaces for accessibility, keyboard focus, forms, navigation and interaction quality. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission.
Project rule — data model: collections, knowledge pages, page links, simple board statuses, membership grants and revisions
Project rule — preserve this invariant: Search results and backlinks enforce the same membership rules as page reads; moving a page preserves its stable link identity.
Project rule — acceptance evidence: A member cannot find a private collection through search; renaming a page leaves its backlinks intact and export retains the revision selected.
Implementation plan
Phase 1
Scope and fixtures. Implement this bounded workflow: Build a small team's linked knowledge base with a fast editor, collections and a board view of selected pages. Search authorized content and export each collection as Markdown plus attachments. Record prerequisites, select representative user-owned fixtures and document the unsupported features: real-time collaboration, hosted sync, permissions, and dependable search; frictionless mobile capture
Phase 2
Durable model. Model collections, knowledge pages, page links, simple board statuses, membership grants and revisions Add migrations or a versioned document format, explicit validation, stable IDs and a visible import-error report. Preserve this rule: Search results and backlinks enforce the same membership rules as page reads; moving a page preserves its stable link identity.
Phase 3
Complete the first useful path. Implement the workflow's input, review and output interface, with clear controls and explicit empty/error states. Commit related database changes in one transaction. Use version checks for competing edits and an outbox for external notifications; retry delivery independently of saving the record.
Phase 4
Permissions and integration failure. Authorize every record read and mutation on the server using its workspace membership; validate payloads, protect mutations against CSRF, and escape user-authored HTML. Request integration credentials and permissions only for the enabled feature; show a disconnected state instead of mock results.
Phase 5
Portable handoff. Export versioned JSON plus attachments and a readable CSV summary. Restore into a separate database and compare record IDs and attachment checksums before switching. Include setup, operating limits, fixture walkthrough and shutdown/restart instructions in the README.
Phase 6
Acceptance scenarios. A member cannot find a private collection through search; renaming a page leaves its backlinks intact and export retains the revision selected. Repeat the workflow after restart and with a denied permission or unavailable dependency; show recoverable failure rather than a success placeholder.
WORKING SLICE Build a small team's linked knowledge base with a fast editor, collections and a board view of selected pages. Search authorized content and export each collection as Markdown plus attachments. Build this scoped Nuclino-inspired workflow with a documented data model and visible failure states. Architecture - Next.js App Router and TypeScript for server-rendered pages and validated mutations. - PostgreSQL with Drizzle migrations; Better Auth sessions for a small private workspace. Prerequisites and limits A supported Node release, PostgreSQL, HTTPS for a shared deployment, and a backup destination. Begin with one workspace and explicit owner/member permissions. Outside this release: real-time collaboration, hosted sync, permissions, and dependable search; frictionless mobile capture Data model and correctness collections, knowledge pages, page links, simple board statuses, membership grants and revisions Invariant: Search results and backlinks enforce the same membership rules as page reads; moving a page preserves its stable link identity. Commit related database changes in one transaction. Use version checks for competing edits and an outbox for external notifications; retry delivery independently of saving the record. Security and privacy Authorize every record read and mutation on the server using its workspace membership; validate payloads, protect mutations against CSRF, and escape user-authored HTML. Recovery and export Export versioned JSON plus attachments and a readable CSV summary. Restore into a separate database and compare record IDs and attachment checksums before switching. Implementation order 1. Phase 1 — Scope and fixtures. Implement this bounded workflow: Build a small team's linked knowledge base with a fast editor, collections and a board view of selected pages. Search authorized content and export each collection as Markdown plus attachments. Record prerequisites, select representative user-owned fixtures and document the unsupported features: real-time collaboration, hosted sync, permissions, and dependable search; frictionless mobile capture 2. Phase 2 — Durable model. Model collections, knowledge pages, page links, simple board statuses, membership grants and revisions Add migrations or a versioned document format, explicit validation, stable IDs and a visible import-error report. Preserve this rule: Search results and backlinks enforce the same membership rules as page reads; moving a page preserves its stable link identity. 3. Phase 3 — Complete the first useful path. Implement the workflow's input, review and output interface, with clear controls and explicit empty/error states. Commit related database changes in one transaction. Use version checks for competing edits and an outbox for external notifications; retry delivery independently of saving the record. 4. Phase 4 — Permissions and integration failure. Authorize every record read and mutation on the server using its workspace membership; validate payloads, protect mutations against CSRF, and escape user-authored HTML. Request integration credentials and permissions only for the enabled feature; show a disconnected state instead of mock results. 5. Phase 5 — Portable handoff. Export versioned JSON plus attachments and a readable CSV summary. Restore into a separate database and compare record IDs and attachment checksums before switching. Include setup, operating limits, fixture walkthrough and shutdown/restart instructions in the README. 6. Phase 6 — Acceptance scenarios. A member cannot find a private collection through search; renaming a page leaves its backlinks intact and export retains the revision selected. Repeat the workflow after restart and with a denied permission or unavailable dependency; show recoverable failure rather than a success placeholder. Acceptance A member cannot find a private collection through search; renaming a page leaves its backlinks intact and export retains the revision selected. Use real source data or clearly labeled fixtures. Explain unsupported input and provider failures; do not fabricate analytics, delivery receipts, accuracy claims or security guarantees. Optional agent guidance Optional external skill: [vercel-react-best-practices](https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills/blob/main/skills/react-best-practices/SKILL.md) — Improve React and Next.js data fetching, rendering, bundle size and server performance. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission. Optional external skill: [supabase-postgres-best-practices](https://github.com/supabase/agent-skills/blob/main/skills/supabase-postgres-best-practices/SKILL.md) — Review PostgreSQL schemas, queries, indexes, pooling, concurrency and row-level security. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission. Optional external skill: [web-design-guidelines](https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills/blob/main/skills/web-design-guidelines/SKILL.md) — Review web interfaces for accessibility, keyboard focus, forms, navigation and interaction quality. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission. Project rule — data model: collections, knowledge pages, page links, simple board statuses, membership grants and revisions Project rule — preserve this invariant: Search results and backlinks enforce the same membership rules as page reads; moving a page preserves its stable link identity. Project rule — acceptance evidence: A member cannot find a private collection through search; renaming a page leaves its backlinks intact and export retains the revision selected.
$ open in your agent (prompt prefilled, you press enter), copy the prompt or copy or download AGENTS.md · generated from this app's build plan
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Alternatives to building your own
all 3 free alternatives to Nuclino →· no votes, no pay-to-list · just what's real
Nuclino pricing
| plan | monthly | annual (per mo) | what you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| free | $0/user | $0/user | 50 items across all workspaces; 3 canvases; 2 GB total storage |
| starter | — | $6/user | Unlimited items/canvases; 30-day history; 10 GB storage/user; admin tools and publishingThe live indexed official page exposes $6/user/month while the billing toggle advertises monthly and yearly; the exact no-commitment monthly price did not render, so $6 is stored as the annual-billed monthly equivalent. |
| business | — | $10/user | Unlimited history; 20 GB/user; Sidekick AI, audit log, insights, SSO, security controls and custom publishing domainThe exact no-commitment monthly price did not render; $10 is stored as the annual-billed monthly equivalent. |
free tier50 items across all workspaces, 3 canvases and 2 GB total storage
billingmonthly + annual (up to 25% off); 14-day no-card Starter trial; exact no-commitment prices did not render
hidden costsEvery person in the team, including guests and read-only members, is a billable user on paid plans. New users are prorated. Teams over 100 users must contact sales.
pricing sources checked 2026-08-13 · pricing source ↗
Questions about Nuclino
Can you build your own Nuclino with AI?
Partly. The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For Nuclino, maintain a fast linked team knowledge base with collections and simple boards. The hard boundary is real-time collaboration, hosted sync, permissions, and dependable search, plus sync, collaboration, and capture polish.
What does the Nuclino build prompt cover?
The prompt starts with this scope: Build a small team's linked knowledge base with a fast editor, collections and a board view of selected pages. Search authorized content and export each collection as Markdown plus attachments. Full-product capabilities excluded from the comparison include: real-time collaboration, hosted sync, permissions, and dependable search; frictionless mobile capture; real-time team editing. Follow the implementation plan and its prerequisites before expanding the build.
How do I use the prompt, AGENTS.md and agent skills?
Start with the Nuclino prerequisites and stack, then copy the prompt into your coding agent. Save the project rules as AGENTS.md in the project root. Linked skills are optional packages or source instructions for specific tasks; review their current contents and install only those matching the chosen stack. A skill does not supply API credentials or verify the finished app.
How long will this Nuclino project take?
The catalogue estimate is one sitting for the limited scope. Setup, integration approvals, debugging, deployment and ongoing maintenance can add time. This is an estimate, not a delivery guarantee.
What would I give up by replacing Nuclino?
real-time collaboration, hosted sync, permissions, and dependable search; frictionless mobile capture; real-time team editing; hosted publishing; proprietary AI memory. People still pay for Nuclino because people keep paying when the note system is trusted across every device and disappears into their daily capture habits. The recurring cost buys file watching, conflict handling, indexing, mobile apps, encryption, backups, and migrations, not just the visible interface.
What price is this guide comparing against?
The recorded Starter plan is $6/mo per seat (annual billing, per user per month), checked 2026-08-13. Check the linked pricing source before buying. Building your own also has hosting, API and maintenance costs; the recorded amount is not a guaranteed saving.
What can I use instead of building Nuclino?
Wiki.js: A polished wiki, provided you are willing to become its part-time sysadmin. Docmost: A clean team wiki with a database bill instead of a seat bill. BookStack: A wiki arranged like a bookshelf, which is either charming or compulsory. Compare all listed options at https://howtovibecodeit.dev/nuclino/alternatives. Check each option's license, hosting needs and feature limits.